Patent Infringement: Successful Litigation Stays the "Course"
I’m glad that the Sixth Circuit has joined other Federal appeals courts in stating that arbitration provisions are invalid as a prospective waiver of rights and remedies guaranteed under ERISA....more
The plaintiff sued the trustee of his retirement plan, his former employer, and others for breach of fiduciary duties in connection with the plan’s purchase of shares of the employer’s parent company for more than fair market...more
A recent ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirming a decision compelling arbitration provides a “how to” guideline for using online terms and conditions to form a binding agreement....more
As reported in Public Citizen’s Consumer Law & Policy Blog, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently agreed to review Chilutti v. Uber Technologies, Inc., in which a divided panel of the Pennsylvania Superior Court (and later...more
In Sacramento Drilling Inc. v National Casualty Co., the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon addressed an amended motion to compel arbitration brought by defendant National Casualty Co. seeking to limit arbitration...more
Issues surrounding unconscionability and severance are commonplace in motions to compel arbitration, especially in California. Under California Civil Code section 1670.5, a court has three options when presented with an...more
In a recent decision, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied a retailer’s motion to compel individual arbitration of a claim brought in a putative class action lawsuit. The complaint alleges that...more
On August 14, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania decided an arbitration provision was valid and enforceable in a class action regarding interest rates against a lender. The plaintiffs had filed a...more
A California appellate court recently denied a motion to compel arbitration, finding the agreement unconscionable in part because it (1) applied to all claims rather than just those arising from employment, (2) was unlimited...more
The Risk of Litigating Before Moving to Arbitrate - Many employers in California ask or require their employees to execute arbitration agreements. When a claim arises, the employer has a choice—proceed with litigation...more
Courts are finding more workers who do not physically transport goods or people across state lines to be transportation workers exempt from arbitrating their claims under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). The U.S. Court of...more
Recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court in Smith v. Spizzirri, 601 U.S. 472 (2024) and Coinbase, Inc. v. Suski, 144 S. Ct. 1186 (2024) provide important guidance for companies utilizing arbitration clauses in their...more
We previously wrote about an Illinois federal district court order requiring Samsung to pay about $4 million in arbitration fees in connection with 35,000 individual arbitration demands filed as part of a “mass arbitration”...more
Garcia v. Stoneledge Furniture LLC, 102 Cal. App. 5th 41 (2024) - Summary: Although parties may delegate questions regarding the validity of an arbitration agreement to the arbitrator, the delegation presupposes the existence...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed the denial of a motion to compel arbitration after concluding, contrary to the district court’s decision, that a “sign-in wrap agreement” provided conspicuous notice of...more
Introduction - “Arbitration is a creature of contract.” This does not mean that arbitration is a fictional creation or some other-worldly lifeform. But the phrase is shadowy in that it doesn’t convey much useful...more
With its recent decision in Coinbase Inc. v. Suski, the U.S. Supreme Court held that when parties have agreed to two separate contracts, one sending arbitrability disputes to arbitration and the other sending arbitrability...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has rejected an argument that opting out of arbitration clauses precluded arbitration under prior arbitration agreements in a dispute between Uber drivers and...more
The Supreme Court gave us another arbitration decision yesterday (May 23rd)—the second in the span of a week. This one is Coinbase v. Suski, which poses the following question: “Where parties have agreed to two contracts —...more
Takeaway: In Coinbase, Inc. v. Suski, No. 23-3, 2024 WL 2333424 (U.S. May 23, 2024), the Supreme Court unanimously held that where parties have agreed to two contracts – one with an arbitration clause and one without – the...more
On May 16, 2024, the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that, when enforcing an arbitration clause subject to the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), if any party requests a stay, the district court lacks discretion to...more
On May 16, 2024, in Smith v. Spizzirri, the Supreme Court of the United States resolved a long-standing circuit split that affects motions to compel arbitration in federal court. Specifically, the Court answered whether...more
On May 16, 2024, the United States Supreme Court resolved a circuit split regarding whether Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) provides trial courts the discretion to dismiss a lawsuit when all claims are...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Smith v. Spizzirri holding that § 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires district courts to issue an order staying a federal case pending the outcome...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reversed a district court’s decision to deny a motion to compel arbitration in a case involving a request to refund the cost of airline tickets after a cancellation....more